Water contamination Essay Example for Free

Water contamination Essay Contamination of the waters of Lake Erie has been going on since a very long time. Beginning from the year 1969 where legislative measures were taken up to control the pollution of the lake and protect aquatic life in it and ensure that the lake was safe for humans too, the quality of the water has undergone many changes from bad to worse. The reasons that lead to the contamination, their effects on the quality of the water and the resultant damage have been carefully studied and examined by researchers and ecologists all over the world. Lake Erie today represents one of the worst cases of stratification and environmental pollution associated with human activities, urbanization and agriculture. Water Contamination Lake Erie is one of the smallest among the five Great Lakes in terms of its measurement. Bounded by Ontario in Canada and New York in the United States, this lake got so polluted that it made it to the headlines of the national news in the month of June 1969. With an average depth of sixty-two feet and two hundred feet being one of the deepest parts, Lake Erie underwent extreme contamination due to the disposal of sewage and contamination through toxic heavy metals and the usage of pesticides in agriculture. According to Professor Henry Regier of the University of Toronto (1993), â€Å"When you die you will be replaced by billions and billions of living microbes. You will be reorganized in a different form. That is what is happening to Lake Erie. There is a dead zone occupying perhaps one-quarter of the central basin of the lake. This area is not really dead. † In 2004 again, more than eight billion gallons of storm water and untreated sewage was discharged into the waterways of the Lake Erie basin. These were laden with harmful bacteria like Salmonella, disease-causing parasites like Giardia and Cryptosporidium and deadly viruses like the Hepatitis-A virus. In 2005, unsafe levels of E. coli bacteria were found in the waters of the lake. Lake Erie was severely affected by industrial runoff that one of its tributaries, the Cuyahoga River, caught fire in the year 1969, which lead to the Clean Water Act of 1972. From becoming a victim to the damaging effects of sewage disposal through other sources, Lake Erie along with the other companion Great Lakes has tuned into a large source of contamination by itself today. The Great Lakes are now a source of many chemicals to other regions of the globe (The International Air Quality Advisory Board, 1998). Areas in Canada and Scandinavia and beyond are in danger due to the chemicals from Lake Erie that infiltrated them through the air. Though there exists a possibility that the pollutants are changing from volatile chemicals into gases dispersed by the winds, there is no hope that the contamination will come to and end. Don McKay (1998), a member of the Canadian board stated, â€Å"The contamination is merely taking up a new address and isnt really going away. We will not be able to say weve eliminated these pesticides from our environment. Where youve got more pollutant, its going to go to where there is less. † Nearly forty percent of the swimmers suffered from nausea, diarrhoea, stomachaches and headaches after a swim in lake Erie. Due to the environmental contamination, the upper water layer reached temperatures of 26’ C while the lower layers have a temperate of 6’-8’ C. This has lead to stratification, the death of planktons, the production of deadly gases in which the deadly spore-forming bacteria ‘botulinum’ thrives and zebra, quagga mussels do not survive in the waters of lake Erie beyond a day or two. More than half the area of the lake is now ‘anoxic’ which means there is less than 0. 5 mg of dissolved oxygen per litre of water. There is a hypothesis that the contamination of the lake began as early as post the Second World War because of the agents and chemicals used in killing the insects and bugs in the cotton fields. After the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement in 1972 was signed, the phosphorous levels of Lake Erie decreased significantly to 1mg/ L of water. According to Gordon Durnil (1998-1992), â€Å"It is clear to us that persistent toxic substances have caused widespread injury to the environment and to human health. As a society we can no longer afford to tolerate their presence in our environment and in our bodies. Hence, if a chemical or group of chemicals is persistent, toxic and bio accumulative, we should immediately begin a process to eliminate it. Since it seems impossible to eliminate discharges of these chemicals through other means, a policy of banning or sun setting their manufacture, distribution, storage, use and disposal appears to be the only alternative. † References David Dolan, M. (1993). Point source loadings of phosphorus to Lake Erie. Journal of Great Lakes Research (Vol. 19, no. 2, 212-223). Retrieved from www. iaglr. org Katherine Rizzo, (1998) Reversal of fortune: Great Lakes now source of pollution elsewhere The Associated Press. Retrieved from www. centuryinter. net/tjs11/hist/lakes2. htm Walter Stewart (2003) Great Lakes Article: After years of good news, Lake Erie is once again under siege this time from biological pollution. Canadian Geographic. Retrieved from www. greatlakesdirectory. org/on/101603_great_lakes. htm

Marketing Strategies of Starbucks analysis

Marketing Strategies of Starbucks analysis This report will analyze the current trends in the specialty coffee segment are explained the business and marketing strategy of. Formation of successful marketing plan is the key point for a company to gain the competitive advantage over its competitors. The marketing plan evaluates the strategies currently adopting by the company. But the main theme of this report is to focus mainly on company marketing strategies with the help of SWOT Analysis, An off Growth Matrix, Boston Consulting Group Matrix, 4s. We will also try highlighting the company short term goals objectives, and how it can be achieved in the future. Starbucks coffee Company represents an excellent example of a company that has successfully marketed an experience. Moreover, its marketing strategies provide examples of positioning, image development, merchandizing, pricing, packaging, and market development. Starbucks success has helped propel the entire industry segment. The specialty gourmet coffee segment has been rapidly growing since the early 1990s. According to the specialty coffee Association, specialty coffee beverage retail outlets (gourmet coffee shops) increased over tenfold in past decade. Their locations are expected to double by 2015. The growth of this segment was stated and accelerated mainly by Starbucks coffee. Starbucks is the leader in this segment and is becoming one of the most well known international brands in the hospitality industry, as with Hilton and McDonalds. Starbucks opened its first shop in Seattle in 1971. Howard Schultz, the chairman, joined Starbucks in 1982 and introduced the Italian espresso bar concept in 1984. Becoming a public company in 1992. Starbucks accelerated the expansion of business with new capital. Starbucks has over 3,000 outlets in the United States and internationally and is rapidly opening new stores via joint ventures with local companies. Now Starbucks is the biggest coffeehouse chain in the Globe with 8,505 company-owned and 6,505 licensed stores in 42 countries, making a total of 15,011 stores worldwide. Starbucks sells espresso-based hot drink, drip brewed coffee fruit bottled, coupled with pastries, snacks, salads, coupled with sandwiches soups, other cold and hot drink. Competency of star bucks: To summarize, Starbucks has a high reputation for quality because of the following: The company goes to extreme lengths to buy the very finest Arabica coffees available on world markets, regardless of price. The companys freshness and quality are legendary. Beans that are held in bins for more than a week are donated to charity. Every piece of coffee-brewing equipment that is sold has been tested and evaluated. Each Starbucks employee is extensively trained to ensure that customers receive knowledgeable service. Mission Statement: To establish Starbucks as the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world while maintaining our uncompromising principles as we grow. The following six Guideline Principles will help us measure the appropriateness of our decisions: Provide a great work environment and treat each other with respect and dignity. Embrace diversity as an essential component in the way we do business. Apply the highest standard of excellence to the purchasing roasting and fresh delivery of our customer. Develop enthusiastically satisfied customer all of the time. Contribute positively to our communities and our environment. Recognize that profitability is essential to our future success. Starbucks has the following core values: Provide a great work environment and treat each other with respect and dignity. Embrace diversity as an essential component in the way we do business. Apply the highest standards of excellence to the purchasing, roasting and fresh delivery of our coffee. Develop enthusiastically satisfied customers all of the time. Contribute positively to our communities and our environment. Focus all resources to their coffee shop operation because they want to best serve for their customer. Encourage new and innovative ideas akin to maintain competitive growth. Dedicated thier self to continuous achievement in sales, profit and size of organization Market Demographics: The profile for the starbucks customer consists of the following geographic, demographic, and behavior factors: Geographic: The geographic survey may include the identification of total number of population, in society and total number of target customer in which you are operating (Lanchester, Massingham, Ashford 2002). The immediate geographic target market for starbucks is the total population of the UK which is 60,776,238 approximately. The specific targeted market of Starbucks is mostly the Employee of offices, students of schools, colleges, and universities. Demographics: Targeting adults and young adults is a good mechanism for Starbucks because this age level has the same interests as the foundation that promotes arts, culture, education, and the environment (starbucks.com). The company satisfies their customers through their advertising, support programs and, of course, their coffee. Psychographic: The people who want to enjoy a totally different coffee experience, they go to starbucks as it is positioned a completely different coffee shop. MARKET NEEDS: Starbucks has still succeed in providing a good quality coffee in wide rang plus snacks option for their cusotmer.Starbucks looking for perform the following benefits that are important to their customers: Selection: Starbucks want to excel on their competitors theory make easy availability of coffee and snacks in all of its shop, which not available at the larger, dominant coffee chains. Accessibility: Almost all kinds of coffee are exist from starbucks centrally located storefront. Customer service: The client will be daunted with the level of attention that they receive. Competitive pricing: Because it is highly competitive market, so the price of all range of coffee and other products should be price competitive. SITUATION ANALYSIS OF STARBUCKS: The company situation analysis is used at the business level to determine the strategic issues and problems that need to be addressed through the next three steps of the strategic planning process. Starbucks has own very good different kinds of strength to dominant in this industry make it to differentiate to others one in this market. This are the strength, those help starbucks to achieve their targets and desire goals. These are the stratbucks some important characteristics or strengths. STRENGHTS: Strong Brand Recognition Large retail distribution system Quality product Extensive product list Good supplier relationship Strong financial history Strong human resources WEAKNESSES: Even though starbucks posses a number of strengths but it also has some weakness too. starbucks needs to overcome on and deal them for remaining the top position in this competitive market. These are the s following list of starbucks weaknesses: Dependence on single source of business income Prices high relative to competition Strong dependence on suppliers Merchandise sales in stores OPPORTUNITIES: It is a fact that every company who enter in the market must have different kind of opportunities prevails in market. This is the important, how to recognize and make to strategy to acquire them, acquiring these opportunities is called success of company. Starbucks can more successes in market if they will be able to act upon these opportunities accordingly. The following new opportunities can help starbucks to success more in the future in the way of their business. Expansion into overseas markets Expansion into untapped U.K and worldwide markets Expansion of brand name into new products or business lines THREATS: Nobody knows about tomorrow. Especially for nowadays circumstances, world is changing dramatically. Some new threats are prevailing in the market with full swing of their effectiveness. Despite the fact of strong position of strabucks in the market, they are still need to keep eye on these threat get strong positioning and branding. These are the list of some very common internally and externally threats. Economic conditions may make consumers unwilling to pay high prices Political conditions abroad may limit expansion Increasing competition in coffee market May be reaching saturation point in some U.S markets Increase prices of raw material for coffee and other stuff BOSTON CONSULTING GROUP (BCG) MATRIX: In the mid-1960s the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) was founded to provide advice to strategic marketing planners. BCG developed a simple but useful strategic planning technique based on an analysis of a company product portfolio. The technique entail assigning each individual product of an organization to one of four possible cells in simple matrix according to the relative market share and rate of market growth associated with that particular product/business. (Essential of Marketing, Geoff, Lester, Ashford, 4th Ed, p382) In the BCG matrix, star quadrant is the most dominant place where the companies enjoy the high market growth and high market share. Thats why every company wants to stay in star quadrant. As STARBUCKS coffee shop is the renowned coffee chain in the world, thats why it clearly lies in the (STAR QUADRANT High Growth + High Share) because the annual sales of the company in last financial year 2009 are US $ 9.774 Million, moreover the coffee shop enjoying the highest market share as well in the coffee industry. ANSOFFS GROWTH MATRIX: An off has proposed the idea of product. Market scope to aid in the formulation and selection of strategies, particularly for those companies with growth objectives. The basic framework of this approach is the matrix comprises market on the vertical axis and on the horizontal axis products. In turn, each axis is subdivided into existing and new. Each cell of the matrix is form a different strategic alternative for achieving growth. (Essential of Marketing, Geoff, Lester, Ashford, 4th Ed, p380) In the ANSOFF growth matrix, the STARBUCKS coffee shop lies in the (MARKET EXPENSION Existing Product + New Market), because company is making very good profit in almost every coffee shop in different location of the world. Expending its coffee market in Middle East, and Asia could be very helpful for the companys profit because there is huge potential for the coffee market as there is no famous coffee shops in that part of the world. Just like recently they have opened their two coffee shops, one in China and other is in Kuwait. MARKETING MIX STRATEGY FOR STARBUCKS: The term marketing mix is attributed to the American Neil H. Borden and has been touched on several times in earlier chapters. As we have seen, the marketing mix consists of those marketing tools over which the marketer has control and therefore can vary in order to achieve overall marketing objective and strategies. (Essential of Marketing, Geoff, Lester, Ashford, 4th Ed, p380) In order to make appropriate strategies for gaining customers preferences and their loyalty, we need to understand as to how STARBUCKS Marketing Mix or 4 Ps have enabled the company to achieve superior customer satisfaction, and also in building a long-term relationship with its customers. Following are the some recommendations for STARBUCKS in relation with marketing mix: Frame Work of marketing Mix PRODUCT: Product is the bundle of benefits which the supplier offers to the purchaser. The particular set of benefits on offer will appeal to specific group of consumers: it is extremely unlikely that any product will appeal to everyone. Even products such as Coca-Cola, which is sold worldwide and is the worlds most recognized brand name has only a minority share of the soft drinks market. Many people simply dont like it, or think it is too expensive, or prefer other drinks which meet their needs better. Attempts to create a perfect product which suits everybody are likely to result in over complex, over expansive products, which is why product orientation has fallen into dispute. Decision that address the new product development process(innovation management), licensing strategies with potential partners, intellectual property rights, services provided to augment the revenue stream from base products product name/brand decisions ,development of complementary products by partners, creation of industry standards, packaging, and so forth, the critical need is to develop a stream of products with the right set of features to satisfy customer needs in a compelling yet simple fashion.( jakki j. Mohr, Sanjit Sengupta, Stanley Slater,2000, p7) In Starbucks they made purely their products to satisfying the needs of the customer, and they made coffee with the finest coffee ingredients of the world. The different range of coffee and snacks offered by STARBUCKS are as follow: ESPRESSO: Coffee Latte, Cappuccino, Vanilla Latte, Coffee Americano, Espresso COFFEE HOUSE FAVOURITES Caramel Hot Chocolate, Coffee Misto, Classic Hot Chocolate, Signature Hot Chocolate, Freshly Brewed coffee FRAPPUCCINO: Cinnamon Dolce, Java Chip, Espresso, Coffee, Caramel SPRING FAVOURITES: Cinnamon Dolce Latte, Caramel Macchiato PRICE: Price is the total cost the customers of buying the product. It therefore goes beyond the simple monetary costs: customers also consider the difficulty of purchase, the cost of ownership of the product, and even the embarrassment factor of owing the wrong brand. Some product has psychological association which customers find costly. (Essential of Marketing, Geoff, Lester, Ashford, 4th Ed, p380) Decisions that establish price points for the company products, and address issues related cost to produce/manufacturer the good, margins along the distribution channel, competitors prices (pricing relative to a specific firm market position), customer value, total cost of ownership for the customer, price for product bundles, and profitability.( .( jakki j. Mohr, Sanjit Sengupta, Stanley Slater,2000, p8). Price is the only element of the marketing mix that produces revenue, As such; it serves a tactical as well as an economic role for an organization 9Holloway and Robison 1995). The price charged sends many signals about the likely value of the product being offered and, as such, must be commensurate with the quality of experience, Starbuckss product prices are relative high than others, because they target those people of society who give the preference on quantity. Following are the some prices of STARBUCKS famous products: ESPRESSO: Tall Grande Vent Coffee Latte  £2.05p  £2.40p  £2.65p Cappuccino  £2.05p  £2.40p  £2.65p Vanilla Latte  £2.35  £2.70p  £2.95p Coffee Americano  £1.75p  £1.90p  £2.05p Espresso  £1.20p  £1.40p  £1.55p COFFEE HOUSE FAVOURITES Caramel Hot Chocolate  £2.90p  £3.25p  £3.50p Coffee Misto  £1.95p  £2.35p  £2.55p Classic Hot Chocolate  £2.20p  £2.50p  £2.80p Signature Hot Chocolate  £2.65p  £3.00p  £3.25p Freshly Brewed coffee  £1.65p  £1.75p  £1.90p FRAPPUCCINO: Cinnamon Dolce  £3.05p  £3.25p  £3.45p Java Chip  £3.05p  £3.25p  £3.45p Espresso  £2.65p  £2.85p  £3.05p Coffee  £2.50p  £2.70p  £2.90p Caramel  £3.05p  £3.25p  £3.45p SPRING FAVOURITES: Cinnamon Dolce Latte  £2.70p  £3.05P  £3.30P Caramel Macchiato  £2.70P  £3.05P  £3.30P PLACE: Place is the location where the exchange takes place. This may be a retail store, it may be a catalogue, it maybe a restaurant, or it may be a website. Deciding on the appropriate place for the exchange is not merely a matter of movie goods around but is rather a strategic issue. The decisions revolve around making it as easy as possible for customers to find the good and make the purchase, and also using channels which give the appropriate image for the product. For example, retailing a product through discount stores gives a completely different impression from retailing a product through discount stores gives a completely different impression from retailing the same product through exclusive department stores. (Essential of Marketing, Geoff, Lester, Ashford, 4th Ed, p380) Now in case of Starbucks they mainly build their stores in the prime location of the city where they can easily attracts their desired customers who really want to enjoy the taste of coffee. Just like in UK they build their stores mainly in the shopping malls and town centers, Amusements Park, stadiums, airports etc. Now it is the need of the time that they should be concentrate to open their more stores in Middle East and Asia. PROMOTION: Promotion is such a large part of marketing that it is often mistaken for the whole of marketing. Promotion encompasses all the communication activities of marketing: advertising, public relations, and sales promotions, personal selling, and so forth. Promotion is not simply a hard sell, however: it is a way of meeting customers information needs, at least in part. It is also, to an extent, persuasive in that most marketing communication emphasis the good aspects of owning products and downplay the bad aspects. Starbucks nearly spends  £4.7 million every year for promotions. It is include the cost of print media, electronic media, indoor, outdoor media etc. The companys latest stunning plan is the Starbucks Card. You buy a re-chargeable card in the UK which can be used at coffee bars in the US, Canada, Australia and Thailand. The card will enhance the Starbucks experience for customers allowing them to buy their daily cup of coffee quickly and easily, even when they are not carrying cash. Recently company through an agreement between Starbucks, and T-Mobile the two companies have come up with a way to provide internet access at Starbucks location and high speed broadband for Starbucks customers as well. In addition, T-Mobile hot spot customers get to use the Starbucks stores as they do now. Moreover Starbucks spends millions of dollars internationally to protect the environment and global warming. DIVERCIFICATION: The major reason for a business adopting a strategy of diversification is therefore to allow it to reduce its dependence upon a single market area (W. Stewart Howe 1986 p 153). At a general strategic level An off suggests three reasons why firms diversify. First, their objectives cannot be achieved by continuing to operate in their existing markets. Thus, since continued operation in these markets is not able to diversify the profit, risk or growth objectives of the business, achievement of these must be sought in new market areas. Second, where a business has excess financial resources beyond those necessary to satisfy its expansion plan in its existing markets, then rather than retain these resources in liquid form of business may invest them in new markets areas. Third, if greater opportunities are presented to the firm in new market areas than accrue from its existing activities. Then a diversification program may be undertaken to benefit from these. There are tw o types of diversifications: RELATED DIVERSIFICATION UN-RELATED DIVERSICATION RELATED DIVERSIFICATION: Expending combining with firms in different, but related industry that are Strategic Fits. UNRELATED DIVERSIFICATION: Growing by combining with firms in un-related industries, where higher financial returns are possible. Now, if Starbucks want to diversify its business outside the industry, then the company should start a totally new business that is not from the same industry. For example Starbucks is a coffee shop, if they enter in the manufacturing business and start making cars, bikes etc that will be the perfect example of diversification. But the main focus of the Starbucks should be on their strategic business unit which is coffee shop. If they want to diversify their business within the same industry i.e. related diversification, then the Starbucks should combine their business with their competitors to launch new products. INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES: The franchiser/licenser remembers to provide a standard package of components, or ingredients together with management and marketing services, and advice. Since franchising involves the transfer of tangible, it can enable greater control of the operation for the originating manufacturer than licensing (Lancaster Massing ham Ashford 2002 p 437). Starbucks currently use three strategies for business in overseas. These strategies are as follow: 1: Joint ventures 2: Licenses 3: Company-Owned Operations. Mainly the company uses the company-owned shops for the business in other countries. RECOMMENDATION FOR FUTURE MARKETING PLAN OF STARBUCKS (3 YEARS): By analyzing the above whole information such as Swot analysis, An off analysis, BCG matrix, marketing mix, following should be the primary objectives of the marketing plan of Starbucks coffee shop for next 3 years: GOALS OR OBJECTIVES: Sales should be increased by 15 to 20% at least. In order to get increased sales, they should increase Gross Profit margin by 25%. Find more new markets especially in Middle East, and Asia. More strengthen their position as a worldwide coffee shop leader. Increase marketing budget by 15% In order to achieve the above future objectives, the Starbucks coffee shop should follow instructions: INTRODUCE SOME NEW PROMOTIONS: As Starbucks introduced a stunning promotion plan that is Starbucks re-chargeable card for purchasing coffee whether you have money or not at that time. Just like that company should develop a membership card especially for the students. Some discount should be offer to regular customer, and student to increase the detainment. NEW TARGER MARKETS: To maintain the top position in the coffee market, Starbucks should go and find some new coffee potential market. Just like there is great potential of new coffee shop especially in Asia, and Middle East, as there is no famous coffee shop. Where they can capture in new market, and got some handsome profit as well. MAINTAIN SUSTAINABLE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE: The Starbucks coffee shop should maintain the competitive advantage that it has got over other coffee shops. In order to maintain leading position in the coffee market, the Starbucks should introduce innovative products after good intervals. INTRODUCE SOME INNOVATIVE PRODUCTS: To maintain the dominant position in the coffee market, it is necessary for the Starbucks that, they should introduce some really innovative products after good intervals. The induction of new products creates the brand loyalty among the customers. INCREASE MARKETING BUDGET: In any company market department play a vital rule in increasing the sales plus revenue. So It is very essential for the Starbucks to full fill the requirement of its Marketing Department whether its finically or non financially. So that they can performed its task potentially. Moreover they are some other resources too, thorough which a Starbucks increase the sales revenue. For example, they should conduct promotions Events, Held seminars and get the services of Global celebrities. DIVERCIFY THE BUSINESS: Diversification is a very important tool for maintaining overall position in any market. Starbucks cannot rely through limited niches products. They have to adopt t Diversification. Diversify the business in product-related items, or unrelated items to increase their revenues. IMPROVE THE PRODUCT QUALITY: To maintain the superb quality and taste of different products in Starbucks, the company should adopt the Total Quality Management tool, which means improve the products quality until the perfection, and there is no defect on product or zero defect products. EMPLOYEES TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT: Training and development of employees is an important task for the management in order to enhance the progress of company, and increase the sales, and produce the error free services. EMPLOYEES MOTIVATIONS: Employees motivation is very important for every organization to get good profit, and in order to maintain its position in the market. Good pay, and reward system is the best tool to motivate the employees. So Starbucks should try to give good pay and benefits to their employees during the job.

Reflecting on Individual Professional Practice with Gibbs cycle

Reflecting on Individual Professional Practice with Gibbs cycle For the purpose of this essay, I will use Gibbs (1988) Reflective Learning Cycle to reflect on an aspect of individual professional practice, which requires development in preparation for my role as a Registered Nurse. Gibbs (1988) Reflective Learning Cycle encourages a clear description of a situation, analysis of feelings, evaluation of the experience and analysis to make sense of the experience to examine what you would do if the situation arose again. To keep within the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) Code of Professional Conduct guidelines (2008a) and to maintain confidentiality the use of names or places will not be used throughout this essay. Description Whilst on placement working on a general ward during my third year I was asked to research a drug I was unsure about by my mentor. On my way to research the drug I was approached by a health care assistant who asked me if I could assist her with a patient who was lying in a soiled bed. I chose to help the health care assistant as I thought this was priority as I could look up the drug at any point in the day as it was for my own learning and development and wasnt urgent. After I had helped the health care assistant, my mentor asked if I had researched the drug. I explained that I had gone to help the health care assistant and would now look up the drug, which I then did. My mentor then told me that I needed to improve on my time management, as I had not looked up the drug when she asked me to. She carried on explaining that when I become a Registered Nurse I would need to know drugs and what they are used for. This situation left me questioning which was the priority, the patients ne eds or my own professional learning and development. Feelings I automatically assisted the health care assistant in making the patient comfortable as I felt that this was the priority over researching the drug. I remember thinking that I could do this at home if the ward became busy. I felt annoyed with myself for not speaking up to my mentor about the issue as I had thought I had made the right decision to help the patient. I was concerned about the patients comfort and felt I could not justify leaving the patient lying in a soiled bed because I had to research a drug. Nurses need to be able to justify the decisions they make (NMC 2008a). After the incident, being told by my mentor that I needed to improve on my time management skills because I chose to assist the health care assistant confused me a little. This practice experience made me feel as though I needed to learn and develop more regarding my time management skills. I decided I would have to research into the meaning of time management as I thought that my time management skills were fine. I was always on time for my shift and I would make a list of the jobs I needed to do and prioritise them. This experience made me question how I was prioritising my workload at present. Evaluation I chose to assist the health care assistant in ensuring the patient was clean and comfortable and felt that this was the priority in this situation. As an accountable practitioner the NMC (2008a) states you must make the care of people your first concern, treating them as individuals and respecting their dignity which I did. I could understand what my mentor was explaining to me, that as a Registered Nurse I must be able to know what different drugs are and what they are used for. As an accountable practitioner, I must have the knowledge and skills for safe and effective practice when working without direct supervision, recognize, and work within the limits of my competence. I must also keep my knowledge and skills up to date throughout my working life and I must take part in appropriate learning and practice activities that maintain and develop my competence and performance (NMC 2008a). Post-registration education and practice (Prep) is a set of Nursing & Midwifery Council standards and guidance, which is designed to help you provide a high standard of practice and care. Prep helps you to keep up to date with new developments in practice and encourages you to think and reflect for yourself. It also enables you to demonstrate to the people in your care, your colleagues and yourself that you are keeping up to date and developing your practice. Prep provides an excellent framework for your continuing professional development (CPD), which, although not a guarantee of competence, but is a key component of clinical governance (NMC 2008b). Following this experience my concern was which is the priority and which was not and that if I had have researched the drug I would have been leaving the patient in a soiled bed until I had done it. Analysis As Individuals, we do not invent the concept of time, but we learn about it, both as a concept and a social institution, from childhood onwards. In the Western world, time has been constructed around devices of measurement, such as clocks, calendars and schedules (Elias 1992). A study by Waterworth (1995) explored the value of nursing practice from the viewpoint of practitioners, she identified that time with patients is important, but raises the question of how nurses manage their time. The importance of time management will strike me at some point in my career as a Registered Nurse. I will be inundated with work and I will need to evaluate how to manage my time effectively. Time management is a dynamic process. It is constant actions and communications between you and your goals and dealing with changing situations (Brumm 2000). Time management tends to go hand in hand with good prioritisation skills, which mean managing your time, deciding upon priorities and planning accordingly, this can be one of the most difficult skills to acquire (Hole 2009). Managing time appropriately will reduce stress and increase productivity. There are three basic steps to time management. The first step requires time to be set aside for planning and establishing priorities. The second step requires completing the highest priority task whenever possible and finishing one task before you start another. In the final step the nurse must reprioritise what tasks will be accomplished based on new information received (Marquis and Huston 2009). We use planning in all aspects of our lives. In nursing, we often call it a care plan, and nurses use this process to guide their practice. The nursing process, or Assess, Plan, Implement and evaluate (APIE), can be used successfully as a time management tool. APIE is a systematic, rational method of planning and providing care but if you change, the meaning to read it is a systematic, rational method of planning and accomplishing a workable time management plan this can be a great tool for nurses to use to manage their time effectively (Brumm 2000). Assess/Analyze Collect and organise data and form a statement of actual or potential time management needs. Plan/Prioritize Formulate your plan. This involves devising goals and expected outcomes, setting priorities, and identifying interventions to help reach the goals. Implement/Intervene Put your plan into action. Evaluate Assess your outcomes and see how you measure up against your goals. There will be constant demands on my time and attention and it may be difficult to identify exactly what my priorities should be. In patient care, priorities can change rapidly and I will need to be able to constantly re-assess situations and respond appropriately. Priority setting is the process of establishing a preferential sequence for addressing nursing interventions. The nurse begins planning by deciding which intervention requires attention first, which second and so on. Instead of rank-ordering interventions, nurses can group them as having high, medium, and low priority. Life threatening problems such as loss of respiratory or cardiac function are designated as high priority. Health-threatening problems, such as acute illness and decreased coping ability, are assigned medium priority because they may result in delayed development or cause destructive physical or emotional changes. A low-priority problem is one that arises from normal developmental needs or that requires only minimal nursing support (Kozier et al 2008). The assumption is that priorities can be determined, and decisions made as to what is most important, and that this can be followed by appropriate nursing actions. To establish priorities is to question what will be the consequence if this is not done immediately. During this experience questioning what will be the consequence of not helping the health care assistant? The patient would have had to wait whilst I researched the drug and would have been left lying in urine and faeces. This could cause skin excoriation to the patient and they would have been left uncomfortable and undignified. I would not have been providing a high standard of practice and care as stated in the NMC (2008a) and I could be held accountable for this as a Registered Nurse. Urinary incontinence and faecal incontinence should be managed in a manner that is unobtrusive, reliable, and comfortable. The patient will need to be attended to quickly, in order to prevent skin damage, relieve discomfort and restore dignity. Nurses need to be aware of the potential skin problems that may result from incontinence (Baillie 2005). The presence of moisture from urine and sweat increases friction and shear, skin permeability and microbial load (Jeter and Lutz 1996). If a patient has been incontinent of urine and faeces, their interaction can result in the formation of ammonia, leading to a rise in pH and an increase in the activity of faecal enzymes that damage the skin (Baillie 2005). The importance of changing a soiled product promptly in cases of faecal incontinence to prevent skin excoriation has also been emphasised by Gibbons (1996). I must act at all times to identify and minimise risk to patients and clients (NMC 2008a). A research article and news story about student nurses and bedside care produced a phenomenal response on nursingtimes.net. The study authors Helen Allan and Pam Smith (2010) speak out  saying that given the current pressures, qualified nurses are unable to deliver bedside care. The perception is that technical care is valued over and above bedside care as a source of learning for students future roles, leaving them feeling unprepared to be registered nurses. Their research showed that students conceptualize nursing differently to qualified staff because of an intensified division of labour between registered and non-registered nursing staff. As students, we often observe health care assistants performing bedside care and registered nurses undertaking technical tasks. The absence of clear role models leads students to question bedside care as part of their learning and to put greater value on learning technical skills. In relation to my reflective experience my mentor suggested the technical task in researching the drug was the priority in relation to the bedside care of the patient therefore it is not surprising to find that student nurses are unclear as to what is a source of learning in preparation for our roles as Registered Nurses. Helping patients with personal hygiene is one of the most fundamental and crucial relationship-building skills available to nurses, regardless of their seniority and clinical experience, student nurses should embrace these opportunities while we do not have the other time pressures and we can then reflect on our experiences. These skills will prove invaluable in delivering, overseeing and evaluating meaningful, holistic care (Bowers 2009). Registered Nurses hold a position of responsibility and other people rely on them. They are professionally accountable to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), as well as having a contractual accountability to their employer and are accountable to the law for their actions. The NMC (2008a) code states that As a professional, you are personally accountable for actions and omissions in your practice and must always be able to justify your decisions. The NMC (2008a) code outlines the standards that I must work according to, what is expected of me as a registered professional by colleagues, employers, and members of the public. It also outlines what my professional responsibilities and accountabilities are. I may sometimes be faced with situations, which will require me to challenge, and question things that they are asking me to do if I feel that these things are unsafe or are not in the best interests of the patient or organisation. It is well recognised that it can be difficult to address these issues due to factors such as fear of the consequences, embarrassment, and lack of support like in my experience as mentioned above. Semple and Kenkre (2002) point out that the UKCC (2001) [now the NMC] reported the research of Moira Attree, which highlighted that fact that nurses are often reluctant to raise concerns about standards of care because they feared either inaction or retribution from employers. Nurses may also be inhibited b y fears of being ostracised by the team if deciding to speak out against poor practice. This is another aspect of my individual professional practice, which requires development, and I will try to question situations in the future if I feel they are not in the best interests of the patient. Being overwhelmed by work and time constraints will lead to increased errors, the omission of important tasks and general feelings of stress and ineffectiveness. Time management is a skill, which is learned and improves with practice (Marquis and Huston 2009). Literature on time management in nursing is mainly unreliable, providing a number of tips on how to manage time, along with descriptions of processes or strategies. The order for thinking about the process varies, ranging from setting objectives as the first step to working out how time is being used with the aid of time logs (Waterworth 2003). Determining the importance of tasks or priorities is part of the process, although the stage at which this should occur varies between authors. The main theme in literature is that nurses need to think about their own time management, with the main message being that individual nurses can manage their time. The reality of time management in nursing practice has been subject to experimental investigations, although studies on nurses work organization have found time management problematic, with nurses compensating for lack of time by developing strategies in an attempt to complete their work (Bowers et al. 2001). Conclusion Time management is a dynamic process and tends to go hand in hand with good prioritising skills. If you cannot prioritise you, will waste time and be inefficient. This can cause stress to yourself and your fellow team members, as well as causing potential harm to your patients. An efficient way to organising your time can be to use the nursing process as explained in the essay to Analyze, Prioritize, Intervene and evaluate. After my research into time management and prioritising, I believe that my mentor was wrong to question my time management skills. I had thought about which was the greater priority in this situation and I still believe that the patient was. The patient would have been at risk from skin excoriation and would have been left uncomfortable and undignified. As a Registered Nurse, I will be accountable for my actions and in the future, if the same situation arose again I feel that I would not do anything different other than to speak up and justify my decisions. I identified and minimised risk to that patient and as a Registered Nurse, I will hold a position of responsibility and other people will rely on me. Although saying this, my priorities as a Registered Nurse may be different to those as a student nurse and my continuing professional development will be extremely important. I must make the care of my patients my first concern at all times, treating them as individuals and respectin g their dignity (NMC 2008a). Action Plan With the increasing emphasis on efficiency and effectiveness in health care, how I manage my time will be an important consideration. Time management is recognized as an important component of work performance and nursing practice. As a newly qualified Registered Nurse, I will have to have excellent time management skills and be able to prioritise care appropriately. To achieve this I will: Break down my day to find out how long it takes me to do certain tasks. Using the nursing process as a tool, I will write a list in priority order and cross of tasks as they are completed and I will keep evaluating my list during the shift. I will delegate tasks to other members of the team where necessary. Through the reflection of this experience, I am now aware that I also need more development to challenge and question things that I feel are not in the best interests of the patients. To achieve this I will: I will speak up and justify my actions at all times. I will research more into assertiveness and confidence skills. Word Count: 2867.

Dreams :: essays research papers

Dreams "I don't use drugs, my dreams are frightening enough." (Escher) Why do we dream? Are they instructions from the spiritual world or just deep, hidden wishes that can be used to unlock the secrets of the unconscious mind? Nobody knows for sure. One theory that is prevalent today is that dreams result from the physiological "exercise" of the synapses of the brain. There is no proven fact on why we dream, which is why there are so many theories on the topic. There is Freud's theory that dreams carry our hidden desires and Jung’s theory that dreams carry meaning, although not always of desire, and that the dreamer can interpret these dreams. After these theories, others continued such as the Cayce theory in that dreams are our bodies means of building up of the mental, spiritual and physical well being. Finally came the argument between Evans' theory and the Crick and Mitchinson theory. Evans states that dreaming is our bodies way of storing the vast array of in formation gained during the day, whereas Crick and Mitchinson say that this information is being dumped rather than stored. Whichever theory is true, we may never know, but from these following theories we can decide for ourselves what we believe to be true and further help us into understanding our dreams. My own personal theory on why we dream is that the subconscious mind is always working. This results in dreams. The subconscious mind in an attempt to file away all of the information from the previous day results in dreams. A dream in my opinion is nothing more than a chemical reaction in the brain. In laboratory tests, when people were awaked during the RAPID EYE MOVEMENT (REM) stage of sleep and asked to report what was on their mind just before awaking, about 90% reported an experience termed TRUE DREAM. When a true dream is experienced is seems as if it were an actual event rather than one thought or imagined. True dreams often involve a series of such experiences woven together in a somewhat bizarre story. Even those people who claimed to rarely dream or only remember fragments of dreams in the mornings were able to give detailed accounts of a true dream experience when awakened during REM sleep. Those who were awakened during SLOW-WAVE sleep (the deeper, less mentally active s tages of sleep) reported mental activity in only about 60% of cases.

Scoliosis :: Health, Informative, Medicine

Scoliosis   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Everyone's spine has curves. These curves produce the normal rounding of the shoulder and the sway of the lower back. A spine with scoliosis has abnormal curves with a rotational deformity. This means that the spine turns on its axis like a corkscrew.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Scoliosis is a curvature of the spine which may have its onset in infancy but is most frequently discovered in adolescence. It is more common in females by a 2:1 ratio. However, when curves in excess of 30 degrees are evaluated, females are more frequently affected by a ration of approximately10:1. The cause of the most common form of scoliosis; idiopathic scoliosis. is unknown, but there have been hereditary factors discovered that are present.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Scoliosis causes shoulder, trunk and waistline â€Å"asymmetry†. In mild forms, the condition may be barely noticed; however, in severe forms there is significant disfigurement, back pain and postural fatigue, and it may be associated with heart failure. Fortunately the majority of scoliosis cases need only close follow-up to watch for worsening of the curve. Some cases require more aggressive treatment which could include surgery.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The non-operative treatment of scoliosis involves observing the deformity with examinations and repeated x-rays. Under certain circumstances, when spinal growth remains, a brace may be used in combination with follow-up x- rays. Physical therapy exercises have not been shown to be effective treatment for scoliosis.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The most common surgical treatment for scoliosis is a spine fusion using special stainless steel rods, hooks, and a bone graft. The rods are attached to the spine with hooks and the curved portion of the spine is carefully

Co-education Female Essay

The debatable issue on Co-education is continually progressing through the State and convincing parents and teachers that sex-separation will reveal a sign of improvement in student’s lives. In the United States, teamwork is a massive aspect in people’s lives where both girls and boys work together in order to achieve their goal , however, both articles provide informative proves that co-education could result in failure because of the different stereotypes in society. The debate mainly focuses on the separation of both sexes in school since â€Å"there is no extra cost. The debate also catches the reader’s attention by the different research that many scientists did in order to prove a fair result that will satisfy the parents and teachers. The separation of sexes in school could result in improvement of education and behavior with boys and girls. Based on Jennifer Medina’s article, teachers will face less problems if both sexes are separated since the boys will tend to focus more on learning than on girls, in addition, girls will tend to feel more comfortable participating in class. Co-education will also result in good teamwork especially in the outside community because both girls and boys will learn to communicate. However, from the boy’s point of view, they will tend to be more comfortable in expressing themselves and learn about â€Å"being a man† in their own bodies. In addition to those articles, the media will affect the parents and the teachers around the state because of highly known and educative people in society. For example, Leonard Sax who is a best seller author of Why Gender Matters and Michael Sax argues about single sex with a huge audience in order to prove their facts about the separation and the importance of it. In contrast, both sex educations could also result in improvement around the state and in schools because boys and girls will learn to communicate together and work hard as one community. In addition, many authors and scientist were seeking for evidence in order to prove that Co-education could be for the good of their community. For example, a research on Bronx’s Eagle school stated that both sexes’ classes tend to have higher test scores around the state and tend to receive high percentages in their community. Both sexes will also learn and appreciate that both sexes are important in everyone’s lives since they communicate and work together outside of the learning community. Researchers also proved that working together as both sexes will also result a sign improvement in teamwork because many girls tend to be left out in single-sex schools in teamwork projects. Comparatively, Co-Education and single education also have their problems in society because of their lack of certain teachings in schools. For example , a study showed that girls tend to be smarter than boys and tend to solve math and science faster and more accurate since there are different brains and each person have a different sign of knowledge and personality. However, since girls are smarter, they tend to ask for more detailed teachings and writing scripts since they will have more things to explain in their writing assignment. When in contrast, boys have to write about a simple sport or a job they seek for in order to prepare them for the future. Although, teachers who support single education tend to have other opinions toward their ways of teaching. For example, Mr. Napolitano claims that he is more comfortable in expressing his feelings and thoughts while teaching to single sex classrooms because the boys will tend to have the same situation. In addition he also shows a book called Patrol Boy in order to show boys that having a tattoo is not a material they should use in co-ed class. In conclusion, this debate tends to prove that single education will show more improvements since the media tend to support it and also the teachers. The reasons that parents should choose single education is because they will improve economically and also their students will face less behavior problems and more school focused. However, co-ed schools tend to have higher scores and will teach the students to work together in order to improve their speech especially outside in society since they will be working together as one team. Both articles prove that both educations will result in bonding together as students and as teachers in this society because at the end of this debate both classrooms will be teaching and learning in the states.

Evaluating E-Commerce Strategy Development within Organisations Essay

Background The news about the â€Å"New Economy† has triggered many entrepreneurial ventures to exploit on the electronic commerce (e-commerce) opportunities. Ventures such as Amazon and eBay have received significant media attention and investor optimism about the potential of e-commerce. Now that the smoke has settled, both management and academic research have become interested on the impact of e-commerce on those companies that have supplemented their brick-and-mortar outlets with e-commerce initiatives. Several researches have emerged on effect of e-commerce on organisational strategy. Tapscott et al (1998) discusses the organisational changes created by B2B e-commerce and the benefits of deploying e-commerce within the organisation. O’Connell (2000) discusses the effect of e-commerce in the organisational structure in light of the resource-based view and transaction cost theory. E-commerce has been seen as improving efficiency, communication and lowering costs across business processes (O’Connell, 2000; Krovi et al., 2003; Garicano and Kaplan, 2001). In addition, researches have also shown the influence of e-commerce on brand management. Wind & Mahajan (2001). discuss how the competitive environment is changing with the increasing number of Internet users and how the new technology is redefining the marketplace. The research presented a conceptual framework delineating the drivers and outcomes of marketing strategy in the context of competing in both physical and electronic marketplace. Part of the emergence of electronic marketplace is the ability of organisations to offer highly customized products to consumers, and the capability to build and to manage customer relationships (Brown, 2000). The aim of the research is to investigate the way in which an organisation develops its electronic commerce strategy over time in light of existing strategic approaches and development found within related literature. The research particularly looks into Marks & Spencer e-commerce strategy as the case study for the research. The research looks into how Marks & Spencer has developed and implemented its e-commerce strategy. Drawing from strategic management theories, the research specifically focuses on the how an e-commerce strategy is grounded on reducing transaction cost within the organisation and across the value chain. Furthermore, the research also looks into the importance of relationship marketing and how e-commerce is providing organisations with the necessary technology to achieve seamless exchange of information and reduced costs. Strategically, the adoption of e-commerce within an organisation hinges on these two important strategic management theories. In addition, the research is confined within the business-to-consumer (B2C) market, since business-to-business (B2B) relations are frequently characterized by a small number of customers and a strong emphasis on personal contacts between customers and salespeople as their means of marketing communication. Therefore, the research focuses on how consumers view their shopping experience within an e-commerce site, particularly Marks & Spencer. The Overview of the Study   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The remainder of this study is as following statement:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Chapter 2, Literature Review, will provide a concise concept and explanation of electronic commerce within retail organisation. The review of related literature discusses the concept and application areas of e-commerce within organisation. The review will also tackle the important strategic management concepts such as transaction cost theory and relationship marketing and how e-commerce is enabling organisations achieve increased efficiency, improved communication, and lower costs across its value chain. Chapter 3, Methodology, will describe the research design of this study. The research design of this study is empirical research method using secondary data for quantitative analysis. Chapter 4, Results, will demonstrate the results of this study.   At first, the descriptive statistical data such as maximum, minimum and mean, on the consumer’s perspective on the different service attributes of e-commerce site for Marks and Spencer. Chapter 5, Summary, Conclusion and Recommendations, the â€Å"Summary† section will first provide a comprehensive summary of the major findings of this study. The â€Å"Conclusion† section will highlight the implications of the research findings. Finally, â€Å"Recommendations† will be proposed to help companies to utilize the importance of electronic commerce in their strategic assessment.   In next chapter, related researches in electronic commerce will be reviewed CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW Electronic Commerce According to the International Engineering Forum, e-commerce is â€Å"an emerging model of new selling and merchandising tools in which buyers are able to participate in all phases of a purchase decision, while stepping through those processes electronically rather than in a physical store or by phone (with a physical catalog). (online International Engineering Forum)† E-commerce enables a customer to access product information, select items to purchase, purchase items securely and have the purchase settled financially.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   While the notion of e-commerce as the ability of organisations or a person to sell over the Internet is very popular, the research paper will adopt the definition of Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD). E-commerce can be defined as â€Å"the total of all applications that pertain to online communications and transaction (OECD, 2000).† The definition better suit our purpose of discussing e-commerce in the context of strategic management. The research views e-commerce holistically, which encompasses the communication between organisations and customer over the Internet, the completion of one-time or on-going online transactions, and e-CRM systems.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The emergence of e-commerce in the retail sector is one of the most widely adopted and anticipated development in the industry. Following the success of Amazon, many brick-and-mortar retailers jumped into the dot com bandwagon and established their online presence in the World Wide Web. Many have adopted e-commerce capabilities out of a fear of falling behind competitors or as a result of the general momentum to expand the use of an existing Internet presence. Nonetheless, the main value proposition for organisations adopting an online presence is the prospect of increasing revenue from new markets and using a lower-cost, electronic-distribution channel (online International Engineering Forum).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   With a strong demand from organisations in creating an online presence, internet service providers (ISPs) have begun to offer electronic-commerce hosting services. ISPs often position as a outsourced service provider of the customers’ electronic-commerce capabilities, managing the networking and server aspects of the initiatives. Such services are important consideration for the roll-out e-commerce sites as it allows organisations to leverage on the expertise of ISPs and allows organisations to concentrate on their core businesses (online International Engineering Forum).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   From the customer’s perspective, the main benefit of an e-commerce system is the convenience it brings to consumers, who are constrained by busy schedule and numerous activities. The e-commerce system enables a customer to locate and purchase a desired good or service over the Internet when the customer is ready to make the purchase. Its function is synonymous to a virtual store (online International Engineering Forum).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   From the merchant’s perspective, the e-commerce system enables the organisation to take advantage of the strengths of online store and increase revenues. One of the key benefits of implementing an online store is the capability to cover greater market reach and a complementary distribution channel to its existing brick-and-mortar stores. However, in order to effectively implement an e-commerce strategy, the e-commerce system must recreate or utilize existing data and business processes. The merchant must recreate the same shopping experience in its online store providing in-store assistance, secure payment process, catalogs and prices about the products and services, inventory management, and transaction capabilities (including credit authorization, tax computation, financial settlement, and shipping) (online International Engineering Forum).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Furthermore, e-commerce not only allows merchants to take advantage of market reach, but it also enables merchants to redefine and enhance an enterprise’s brand strength, customer-service capability, and supply-chain efficiency. An e-commerce site is one of the areas of an enterprise infrastructure that is open to customers via the Web, but it is linked with other information system of the enterprise value chain (online International Engineering Forum).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In implementing an e-commerce site, provision of the basic system requires an Internet connection, a Web-application server and e-commerce application software, and a personal computer for the shopper. Figure 1 illustrates the basic economic drivers and application requirements of an e-commerce marketplace. On the buyers side, consumers are driven to the online retail store through advertisements, interesting features, needed information, and directory. On the sellers side, merchants are driven to the online space because of its ease of entry, increasing website traffic, ability to sell and integrate marketing messages (online International Engineering Forum). Figure 1. Business Drivers in e-commerce strategy E-Commerce Strategies and Business Drivers A number of initiatives implemented within an organisation are driven by a market need. All industries are characterized by trends and new developments that gradually or speedily produce changes important enough to require a strategic response from participating firms. The popular hypothesis about industries going through a life cycle helps explain industry changes but is still incomplete (Porter, 1980 p. 157-162). The life-cycle stages are strongly keyed to changes in the overall industry growth rate (which is why such terms as rapid growth, early maturity, saturation, and decline are used to describe the stages). Yet there are more causes of industry change than an industry’s position in the life cycle (Porter, 1980 p. 157-162). While it is important to judge what growth stage an industry is in, there’s more analytical value in identifying the specific factors causing fundamental industry and competitive adjustments. Industry and competitive conditions change because forces are in motion that create incentives and pressures for change (Porter, 1980 p. 162). The most dominant forces are called driving forces because they have the biggest influence on what kinds of changes will take place in the industry’s structure and competitive environment. The Internet and e-commerce opportunities are unquestionably spawning a sweeping business revolution that altered industry boundaries, opens up all kinds of new business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) market opportunities and threats, sparks competition from new and entirely different breed of enterprises and mandates fundamental changes in business practices (Thompson and Strickland 2001).   In his book The Business of E-Commerce: From Corporate Strategy to Technology, Paul May discusses four business drivers for adopting an e-commerce strategy. First, organisations have the compulsion to catch up with competitors or to gain competitive advantage by being early adopters of the new technology. Organisation’s constant pursuit to gain competitive edge in the marketplace is a primary concern and part of a survival component in the business strategy. Second, organisations need to develop a credible e-commerce channel from its current online portfolio. Third, organisations are constantly looking for ways to reduce cost and increase efficiency within its value chain. E-commerce can be a creative force in delivering reduced transaction cost, increased communication and coordination, and improve business processes. Fourth, e-commerce enables organisations to improve its value chain by creating strategic supplier partnership and delivering customized customer solutions. It allows organisations improve business’ infrastructural capabilities to play as an extended enterprise and not merely a single business entity delivering greater value to its customers (May, 2000). Each of these drivers can be harnessed as a propulsive force for the business, rather than a deflective or immobilizing one (May, 2000). Application areas of E-commerce Six key emerging application areas in electronic commerce can be identified. It can be organized into two important domains: business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B). The application areas include categories in consumer retailing to real-time business-to-business collaboration (May, 2000).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Retailers were the first adopters of the business-to-consumer e-commerce. Retailers found selling products and services online as a promising channel of distribution for its products and reaching new markets. Nonetheless, B2C e-commerce is now more diversified and classified into three application areas which include retail, auction, and advice (May, 2000). The three application areas of B2C e-commerce are retail, auctions, and advice. Although each has its own distinguishing characteristics, and dynamics, a consistent theme underlies the development of all three. This is the increasing â€Å"busy-ness† of consumer lifestyles: the extension from work life into private life of a culture of ever-decreasing time-frames and ever-increasing obligations. Lack of time and complexity of choice drive the growth of products and services in each of these areas (May, 2000). Business-to-consumer is a term that stresses the direction of delivery: B2C e-commerce is supposedly something done by business to consumers. Yet this domain is founded on intense customer focus. Insight into the conflicting desires and pressures affecting consumers is a powerful ally in building successful strategies in this highly competitive area (May, 2000). Business-to-business, on the other hand, is the umbrella term used to refer to transactions between businesses conducted online, and the business networks and supply chains that make these transactions possible. While B2B activity has always, taken place, the Internet brings with it a new framework, B2B companies no longer need to depend on the traditional one-to-one model for business transactions (Michel, 2003). Procurement, inventory exchange, and real-time collaboration are relatively obscure categories of application, which have the potential to flip many businesses inside-out. Procurement introduces process improvements in the buying functions of organisations and also points the way to a more competitive environment in inter-company trading. Inventory exchange introduces the mechanism of the market to smooth out supply and demand inefficiencies across entire value chain, potentially lowers transaction and carrying costs, and focuses on improving exchange of supplier information. Real-time collaboration allows organisations to cooperate as fluid colonies of actors, undermining the stability of companies who prefer hands-off relationships or who prefer their reality-checks to be presented monthly (May, 2000). e-Commerce application in Retail Industry Retailers are now increasingly adopting electronic commerce as another distribution means of selling products and services. Online channels have also proved increasingly popular amongst retail companies within other formats such as hypermarkets or catalog retailers, who have attempted to expand into the sector to escape from stale growth within their respective markets (Datamonitor 2006). Datamonitor estimates the global Internet retail sector valued at $656.4 billion in 2005, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 30.3% over the 2001-2005 period. The estimate is based on the total revenues generated through the sale of retail goods via online channels, valued at retail selling price, with any currency conversions calculated using constant 2005 annual average exchange rates (Datamonitor 2006). With the number of Internet users increasing exponentially year-on-year, the industry has experienced strong global growth within the global Internet retail sector. Much of the demand for online purchases is due to the escalating number of working mothers and time-starved consumers who are conveniently seeking ways of shopping without the hassle of driving to a retail store and falling in-line (Datamonitor 2006). At present, drugs and health & beauty aids are the sector’s most lucrative segment in 2005, accounting for a total of $154 billion in total revenues or 23.5% of the retail sector’s total value. Computer, hardware, software, and supplies contributed significant revenues in 2005, generating $114.9 billion in revenues or 17.5% of the sector’s total value (Datamonitor, 2006).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   While analyst do not see a similar spectacular growth in the global Internet retail industry, experts still is optimistic the pace of revenue expansion for the next four years. Industry experts project to the expansion of industry to remain strong valuing the industry at $1.169 trillion by 2010. This translates to 12.2% CAGR over the 2005-2010 period (Datamonitor, 2006).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In terms of revenues generated per region, Datamonitor reports that Europe has the largest market share in the global Internet retail sector with 44.4% of total value, followed by the United States and the Asia Pacific with 22.5% and 21.7% respectively (Datamonitor, 2006).